Aaron Ramsey netted his ninth goal of the season as Arsenal increased the pressure on Chelsea at the top of the table.

The Gunners have played two games more than Chelsea, who are currently just four points ahead in first place. Ramsey scored early on in a game in which the Gunners had to dig in to claim the vital three points. Ramsey's goal came from Burnley's failure to clear after Mesut Ozil and Alexis both had shots saved; the ball settled nicely for the Welshman who blasted home from just a few yards out.

Arsenal's composed first half had been had been typical of their recent run in the league, however they started the second half poorly and Arsene Wenger noted this early on:

"At some stages at the start of the second half I thought we were under pressure to concede a goal because we didn’t start very well. There were periods in the game where we need to be tight, well organised and calm at the back, and I think our defenders and goalkeeper deserve credit."

The Arsenal manager also spoke highly of his opponents at Turf Moor:

"I’m surprised by the quality of Burnley" the Frenchman is quoted on the Arsenal website, "It would be a shame if they go down because they are fantastically well organised, they press very well, they have a great solidarity, they are very fit and I understand now why they took points from the big teams here."

This was Arsenal's eight straight victory in the league, and it was the gritty kind of victory that Arsenal had been missing in seasons past which pleased Wenger:

"I’m pleased with the performance because it was a more fighting performance than a fluent performance. We had to fight, we had to be combative until the end and we couldn’t score the second goal. Our defenders played well today and won us the three points."

This was also the first time that Arsenal have won eight games in a row since The Invincibles, an achievement that Arsene Wenger does not want to end any time soon:

"We don’t want to stop the run. We’ve won 16 of the last 18 so we are consistent. There’s a good attitude in the team and great quality. Let’s see. It’s a challenge for a team not to forget how much it hurts to lose a game and focus on winning the next one."

When asked whether or not his team could overtake Chelsea, the Frenchman responded:

"Let’s not focus too much on that and focus on the next game, and give absolutely everything to finish in a strong way. We are in the FA Cup semi-final, we have six games to go with 66 points and we want to continue our run now."

One major talking point was the form of Francis Coquelin who, since his return from his loan at Charlton in January, has statistically been the most effective defensive midfielder in the Premier League and his manager had high praise for the midfielder:

"First of all he’s shown his individual quality winning the ball and passing it quickly, and he’s very strong in the challenges. He also contributes to the balance of the team and that’s very difficult to measure. You know that the balance of the team sometimes depends on one player who has some characteristics that the others don’t. He looks like he has hugely contributed to that."

Arsenal now go to Wembley to face Reading in the FA Cup semi-final before returning to the Premier League in a crunch match with rivals Chelsea in what could end or hot up the title race.